Mauricio Pochettino explains how £32m forward Nicolas Jackson will become ‘prolific’ for Chelsea after missing sitter in defeat to Nottingham Forest

The Blues suffered their second setback of the 2023-24 campaign in just four games, when going down to an Anthony Elanga goal at Stamford Bridge. They did have chances before and after Forest forced a breakthrough, but were unable to take any of them and ended up drawing a blank.

Jackson, a £32 million ($40m) summer signing from Villarreal, squandered the most gilt-edged opportunity to take something from a disappointing performance on home soil, but he fired over the crossbar late on with the goal gaping in front of him.

Pochettino has said when asked if the Senegal international can become a prolific presence for Chelsea: “Yes, of course. but he needs time. He needs to adapt to the Premier League. he is doing a fantastic job but afterwards, to score is not easy. Sometimes he is a little bit rushed in his decisions but this is only to say he needs to settle himself, be more calm and more relaxed and for sure he is going to score goals.”

Jackson has registered one goal for Chelsea through five appearances – with that solitary strike coming against Luton – with Pochettino adding on how he can become the fearsome central striker that the misfiring Blues are crying out for: “In the future we will talk in a different way because he is going to score this type of chance if you are relaxed and you don’t rush and you are more solid and you feel settled in the team and in the Premier League. He has been a little bit unlucky in this type of situation because we had chances to score and win the game. It is difficult to explain because all the stats are positive for the team, only that we didn’t score.”